#12
The man’s long and pointy ears drooped down once. His cautious, uncertain demeanor made him look exceedingly timid. His fidgeting hands clasped together resembled a hamster, which was almost enough to make one laugh.
“Yes, I would appreciate that.”
Thinking he would be rejected, the man’s eyes widened in surprise. His ears that had drooped slowly lifted again. However, he soon cautiously approached and picked up the materials prepared on one side, walking towards the furnace.
“Is there… a specific weapon you desire?”
“Is a crossbow possible? If not, then something with the highest attack power.”
“A crossbow? Cross… oh! Yes, we have that.”
The man’s bright smile brought a wave of bitterness to Sehyun. He didn’t even have the character ‘Seo’ from ‘crossbow’ on his list, whereas someone else searched the list for a while and easily replied with a bright smile.
Ah, I’m so aggrieved that it awakens me…
“…Can I know the stats of the equipment?”
“The attack power is 16, and the durability is 30 based on E grade. It’s probably the best among bows. The grade… with some luck, it might reach C grade.”
“Please take care of it.”
Sehyun said with as gentle a smile as he could manage. He might seem materialistic, but now was not the time to worry about that. He had to return to the Magic Stone Mine starting tomorrow, and to increase his chances of survival, he needed to have every possible precaution in place. Besides, having a level 1 create a C-grade item spoke of exceptional talent.
“Yes. I’ll… I’ll do my best.”
Seeing the man pull out the rough iron crucible with a resolute look, Sehyun noticed the professional quality in him. Not wanting to be a disturbance, Sehyun moved to the side and attentively watched his work.
He was already thinking about trying it himself later. Although, blaming it on know-how when he had already done quite a lot seemed unreasonable.
After about 20 minutes of maintaining a serious attitude, the freckled man finally finished the crossbow by tightly weaving the handle with string, sweating profusely.
The grade was a C, fitting for the sweat-soaked effort, even reaching A within C grade. After verifying the grade, the man finally relaxed his shoulders, sighed, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, then turned to Sehyun with a smile to share the good news.
“Fortunately, it came out as C grade. The attack power has only increased by 2 compared to the average C grade stats… I’ll make something even better next time. Or, if you need anything else. No… I’m overstepping.”
He unnecessarily belittled himself in his speech. Sehyun quietly accepted the handed crossbow.
The crossbow, though made of wood, had support and sight holes made of metal to endure the bow’s rapid fire. The wire was twisted tightly, maintaining a uniform thickness.
Despite the bow’s somewhat crude aspect, its grip and weight felt just right in the hand. Of course, it was difficult to shoot with one hand, but it certainly belonged to the upper echelon of weapons. It was beyond anything a novice could create.
“…What’s your name?”
“Me? I’m… Yoon Jeha.”
“I’m Do Sehyun. Thank you for crafting such a great weapon. It seems you’ve awakened. Is your talent in blacksmithing?”
“Ah… Yes. I just acquired the blacksmith skill at the ability development center yesterday. Back in my hometown, my father was into metal fabrication and foundry business, so I grew up playing around the workshop… Not that I’m boasting…!”
Like Kwak Jeong-han, this case also seemed to indicate a high compatibility between talent and racial characteristics. The humility crucial for a blacksmith was somewhat present. Who knew Korea hid so many masters.
Even among the famed empires, there were players who had acquired blacksmith skills. However, their arrogance was so notable that many empires, frustrated with their services, began fervently developing their blacksmiths. Sehyun was among them too.
“I’m sorry! I rambled too much about myself… If you need another crossbow, ju-just let me know.”
“Sure. As a return favor, if there’s anything I can help you with, I’ll do it. Just ask once. Not more.”
“Excuse me?”
Yoon Jeha blinked in surprise at Sehyun’s confident words. Regardless, Sehyun only examined the crossbow more, looking at its mechanism.
The more he observed, the more he appreciated its craftsmanship. Wondering if he should have one made for Lee Jaeyong as well, he pondered when suddenly the door burst open with a loud noise.
Sehyun and Yoon Jeha immediately looked towards the door. There stood a man, holding the door open with a foot, smiling askew. Upon closer inspection, there were actually three of them.
Yoon Jeha instinctively shrank at the sight of the one who kicked the door.
“What’s up, our little bug was here?”
“What, this guy was stuck here yesterday and now he’s losing his mind since morning.”
“Only good at wasting food, now showing off he got blacksmith skills? Too transparent.”
As the men swaggered in, Yoon Jeha’s face grew increasingly pale.
There’s always this type. Bullies who pick on the weaker, drowning in their inferiority complex. Sehyun scanned the loafing bullies momentarily then froze his gaze at one spot.
One of them was from the same race as the village chief. The Kurals. Although Sehyun jokingly called them Australopithecus, their official name was Kural, a warrior race talented in throwing weapons.
They were known for their excessive pride, leading to constant conflicts even among their kind, resulting in significant internal divisions.
“Speak up, bastard. Don’t just stand there all clenched up.”
“I just… wanted to make a weapon…”
“Look at that, our mighty blacksmith wants to make a weapon!”
The Kural man laughed loudly like a monkey, revealing his teeth. This was Sehyun’s first encounter with him. Presumably, this Kural replaced one of the four individuals who had died in the Magic Stone Mine yesterday.
The racial composition of a village or empire usually reflects the race of its grand duke. Although this time was exceptional with the residents being players and thus humans, it would have been a Kural village under normal circumstances, given that Kim Gap-Jun was the village chief.
The grand duke would have likely welcomed the Kurals.
“What about it, bug? I’ve awakened blacksmith skills too.”
“Comparing yourself to a bug?”
“Bug, give it up for today. It’s our turn to use this place. Need to polish those skills and secure a position, screw the Magic Stone Mine.”
Sehyun ignored the men seeing him as invisible and continued examining the crossbow. Yoon Jeha looked distressed, but Sehyun found no reason yet to intervene. If Yoon Jeha asked for help, it might be a different story.
Surely he would do so.
“Can’t skills be transferred somehow? Ah, if I had blacksmith skills, I could sit back and relax.”
“Ah, always picking up rocks and woods. Wish I could gather food like someone.”
“Bug, aren’t you in charge of the morning? Coming back empty-handed again after playing around?”
“…Today is lunch duty. And I am trying. Really…”
“Trying, what the hell. Speak up, or else!”
Sehyun, holding the crossbow, took aim at a wall of the foundry and pulled the trigger. The arrow launched with a bang and lodged into the wooden wall with considerable force, scattering wood splinters. Indifferently watching the point of impact, Sehyun then looked back at the crossbow, ignoring the stares fixed on him.
“Indeed… superb craftsmanship.”
Maybe helping once wasn’t enough. So, not three, but maybe twice would be appropriate.
“What, damn it. Gave me a scare…!”
Only then did their attention shift from Yoon Jeha to Sehyun. Growling, they narrowed their eyes and advanced on him, but Sehyun was occupied with examining the force and structure of the launched crossbow. Could tightening the string increase the speed or power?
“Hey.”
“What, bastard!”
“That’s the guy! The one who stood up to the village chief and got kicked out! Acting all high and mighty by himself!”
Regardless of their scolding, Sehyun adjusted his grip on the crossbow and aimed at the wall again. The arrow was fired with a short recoil, not landing in the same spot as before.
Shouldering the crossbow, he turned to retrieve the arrow, not forgetting to speak up.
“Normally, you don’t bother with bugs. Why engage with them? There’s no shared meal, no need to care. They’ll leave on their own, or what, you plan to feed and take care of them? From what I see, that won’t last long.”
His words left the men puffing themselves up in smug agreement, while Yoon Jeha’s head drooped even lower.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
